Ravi Shastri-Rediffusion event management venture kicks off

What do you get when you cross an erstwhile cricketing star with one of India's top advertising agencies? The unlikely answer: an events and celebrity management company with an international flavour.

Showdiff International, born out of a strategic partnership between former Indian cricket captain Ravi Shastri and communication conglomerate Rediffusion, will offer an array of services in the domains of talent and event management.

The company has been started with an initial investment of Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million), but the officials refused to divulge the exact details of the joint venture. The company will be headquartered in Mumbai and have offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Middle East.

The company will also focus on its international activities. Its plans include promoting local talent on an international platform as well as bringing in international talent into the country.

It is learnt that Showdiff will foray into the world of event management in the immediate future with a music concert in Colombo involving a leading international artist.

Commenting on the timing of the launch of the new company, Diwan Arun Nanda, chairman of Rediffusion DYR, said, "We were on the look out for a partner like Ravi Shastri who would bring with him professional knowledge in some field of expertise and a large number of contacts at both national and international levels. In any business, its not how late you come in but its how good you are that counts and when you look at that way, Showdiff has a natural advantage over competition."

The new company will not just look at the existing talent in the world of sport, films, fashion and music but will also concentrate on developing new talent and giving them support. All talent management contracts will be signed on a revenue sharing basis.

Ravi Shastri, who would be the vice-chairman of Showdiff, has been closely associated with the sports management company, WorldTel, said: "WorldTel will always remain close to my heart and I will continue to lend them my support in all their celebrity management activities. In fact, I hope Showdiff can work very closely with WorldTel in future."